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Syaqil Suhaimi
An Environmental Science student at Nottingham Malaysia campus, Syaqil Suhaimi was introduced to the Malaysian Youth Delegation through Emily whom he initially met at a Power Shift Malaysia workshop in 2015. There are two major reasons as to why he embarked on the MYD journey: the first reason is self-actualization – by pursuing this environmental cause, he believes he will fulfill his potential as a global citizen in trying to preserve and/or better manage the environment through intervention and sustainable development related practices. The second reason, as cliché as it sounds, is to give back to society as he believes that there’s no better way to contribute than by ensuring that Earth is in a healthy state for future generations to come.
Lhavanya
Lhavanya considers herself a jack of all trades and believes that skills from different disciplines and areas of interest can be translated and used in other areas and discipline. Which is why she is doing a degree in International Relations, is heavily involved in journalism and wants to use the skills and experience she has to fight environmental and wildlife related problems in the communications and policymaking arena. In addition to that she also loves hiking and really, really hopes that the pristine beauty of all hiking areas can be preserved and managed for everyone and future generations to enjoy.
Mike Campton
Mike has not always been environmentally-aware. All the way up until high school, he never really cared about waste management, air and water quality, greenhouse gas emissions or any other environment-related issue. What really flipped the switch and helped Mike expand his worldviews on these environmental issues and other social issues was studying abroad. In 2013, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a BSc. in Environmental Science and has since kept a passion for climate science and environmental responsibility. By being a part of MYD 2017, Mike hopes to gain knowledge around international climate policy, to ultimately dedicate his life to environmental research, policy and management.
Muhhammad Azamuddeen
Before 6, he was already catching scorpions, bugs and lizards. Exploring nature has become a hobby which he loves to do every free time. As he grows up, he would often sketch animals and plants which appeal to his curiosity, before advancing to photography. He would observe tiny details of their pets – cats and fish to little insects. His passion towards nature is so natural that he was determined to study environmental science. Unlike other teenagers, he spends a lot of time in the woods studying plants and small animals in there. Indeed, this is one true nature lover and enthusiast.
Xiandi Ooi
A proud Penangite, Xiandi has no qualms on “No Plastic Day” because every day is a no plastic day to her. Spoiled by the greens along Penang’s Kelawai Road, she dreams for a greener urban landscape. Xiandi believes that environmental policies can bring collective change and youths need to be involved in the advocacy process. She hopes for an accessible sustainable future and thus joined forces with other youths in MYD to fight for a #green future. As a social media addict (okay, maybe not addict enough to be an addict), she’d love to see her timeline flooded with environmental-related posts because she knows that “sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama jadi trending”.
One of the Malaysian Youth Delegation’s objectives is to engage with our national government, specifically the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) the focal point of UNFCCC negotations for Malaysian.
During a meeting with the NRE Minister in September, we put forward a request to have a pre-COP briefing on Malaysia’s position at the 23rd Conference of Parties (COP 23).
The request was granted and on the 16th of October, the NRE hosted a pre-COP preparatory meeting to discuss matters in regards to the upcoming COP 23 in Bonn, Germany later this November. In attendance were Malaysian environmental CSOs such as Third World Network (TWN), along with Malaysian Climate Change Group (MCCG) organizations, Malaysian Youth Delegation (MYD), World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Global Environment Centre (GEC).
We thank the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for hosting a crucial meeting for Malaysia that allows the CSOs and NRE to act in solidarity during COP23. It shows how Malaysia is clear in its goals to help combat climate change and acknowledges the importance of different stakeholders to make a change.
With COY13 and COP23 just a week away, MYD17, as always, will strive and persevere to make the best out of the event to align with its ambitions.
In conjunction to the upcoming COP23 in Bonn, Germany, this training series aims to educate both the public and the MYD members about:
1. Malaysia’s stance on climate change issues at UNFCCC negotiations and how NDCs are determined by Malaysia
2. Conflict between international policies and Malaysian policies as well as the weaknesses in Malaysia’s climate change policies
3. How Malaysian stakeholders influence policies and the impact of climate change on our economic/ social/ environmental development.
Event: MYD 2017 Training Series #7- Understanding Malaysia’s Climate Change Policies and NDCs
Date: 24/10/17
Time: 6.30 p.m – 9:00 p.m.
Venue: The University of Nottingham Teaching Centre, Level 2, Chulan Tower, No 3 Jalan Conlay, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
MYD Training Details:
Trainer Profile:
Ms Lakshmi Lavanya Rama Iyer is a professional qualified lawyer that also has a Msc in Sustainability (Climate Change) in University of Leeds, UK.
Her experience include working with the Malaysian Government on a UNDP funded project to prepare Malaysia’s climate change report called the Second National Communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Besides that, she also works at the UN in Geneva and is currently practicing law in Malaysia, being WWF-MY’s representative in several working groups of the Third National Communication process.
Registration
#MYD Training Series – Training on UNFCCC negotiations and media work with various climate experts, government bodies and civil society leaders. Each sessions will run for min 2 hours and will be broadcast/record and available on YouTube for future reference. For more info about the TS, please click here: http://powershiftmalaysia.org.my/myd-2017-road-map/
October 11th marks Ada Lovelace day, an international celebration day of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Ada Lovelace was born in 1815 and was a famous mathematician and computer programmer. In fact, she was known as the founder of computer programming as she could create an algorithm for mechanical computers at that time. This is something foreign in the 19th century as there were very few women who partook in such a field. She has become the symbol of many women to follow their dreams and have the determination to break the social norms of the society.
In conjunction with Ada Lovelace day, The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus held a gender equality network and our MYD member, Lhavanya Dharmalingam was one of the speakers. Lhavanya took the stage to talk about how great minds such as Ada Lovelace, Da Vinci, and Rabindranath Tagore are individuals who had multiple interests and passions; developing and contributing ideas that led to cultural, economic and social progress. Now that was the hurdle to progress in the past – breaking the social norm. However, today there is another hurdle to overcome – the climate change. The threat it poses which she described as “looming over us right this moment like a big fire-breathing dragon.”
Climate change has caused so much destruction for the past few decades; the increasing sea levels, severe drought, crop failures, coral deaths and the list goes on. All these have and will lead billions of people around the world to be trapped in serious social and economic problems. Lhavanya told the floor how MYD is helping to combat climate change by attending conferences in the Conference Of Youth (COP) held annually. The significant role of MYD is to act as a mediator between the government and the public . It is the MYD’s responsibility to translate all the climate policy jargons into the layman’s terms for the public to digest and be updated in the global and local climate movement.
She took the opportunity to enlighten the floor with Malaysia’s efforts as a leading nation in climate change during the Paris Agreement and the following COPs. She added how the Malaysian government has decent environmental initiatives and good stance at COP conferences. She gave an example of how Malaysia has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 35% with an additional 10% on the condition of foreign aids by translating what Article 4, Section 3 of the Paris Agreement means for Malaysia. She emphasised the importance of a climate policy communicator coupled with the media that forms an integral role to play in the climate change policy progress. She added that the media is in a unique position to disseminate information to large audience.
In addition, she pointed out how feminism movement is directly involved in this global issue. The movement feels responsible to address the issue as the poor and vulnerable will be the most affected. In this group women make up most of the number. This is due to the fact that in developing regions most farmers are women. As a result, they will be the first to experience the effects of climate change. In addition, she reminded the audience that in rural economies, the job of gathering food and water often falls on the females’ shoulders. Being involved directly in getting food and water for the family, women will definitely be the first to face the impact of climate change.
Besides that, Lhavanya mentioned an eco-feminist movement that focuses on climate change issues and other environmental problems led by Dr. Vandana Shiva, an activist from a diverse skillset coming from a Nuclear Physics background but is currently pursuing the field of environmental policy and agricultural science. “Climate change can and should be approached from various facets and angles for a holistic approach,” she added. She ended the speech by urging us to take the opportunities given to further diversify ourselves to be better qualified and to fill the gaps in the society, partaking in global issues such as climate change. Of course, all for the good of mankind.
Have you seen or experienced around 175 enthusiastic people on climate change in one arena to watch a movie on Climate Change?
It may not be too prevalent, but thanks to #PowerShiftMsia, the screening of Al Gore’s sequel movie on climate change “An Inconvenient Sequel – Truth to Power” was eventuated at TGV cinemas in One Utama Mall. The prequel of this movie was released back in 2006 and tried to permanently denounce climate change deniers. The movie was critically acclaimed by many, including climatologists from NASA.
Fast forward to 2017, the former Vice President of the US comes up with an even more engrossing movie, unlike the principal slideshow presentation in his previous venture. But what does the film have to offer this time around? To answer that question, the MYD members have some riveting reflections
~ OUR THOUGHTS ~
Diyana
“In this sequel, Al Gore made his point about climate change being real and urgent, as his prediction came true: New York (along with the 9/11 memorial) was flooded by ocean waters during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. He went on a mission to persuade governmental leaders to adopt renewable energy, including India, a developing country that has been relying on coal energy. In many cases, he succeeded in convincing the leaders with promises of support. However, he seemed unable to persuade his own country’s leader, which is quite sad. America is one of the important players in the fight against climate change and yet its leader is not on board, as segments of his speech kept implying. But I guess that should not stop any of us from making a change. Overall, I think this movie is a good update on Al Gore’s work and I suppose it encourages us to follow his footsteps to demand country leaders to actually lead the way towards cleaner energy.”
“The movie comes across as an afterthought on an important message. The message is not carefully thought out and the movie has not been meticulously crafted unlike the first of Al Gore’s movies. It’s more of a documentary actually, that highlights how Al Gore’s predictions came true and how wrong his detractors were and basically it was an Al Gore and Climate Change documentary.
Nevertheless, I will highlight it as a good rundown on the climate change scene in the U.S. From the impacts of weather disasters to the politics of it it sheds a lot of light on the scene. I will condemn it for being rather pro Global North and anti-Global South however. Al Gore portrays the Indian leaders in a very narrow perspective as the misguided bad guys who seem more concerned over economic development than climate change but fails to highlight the U.S.’s hypocrisy when it comes to this as well. For example there have been cases of the U.S. interfering in the solar energy market of the developing countries to prevent them from producing solar panels that are cheaper and more accessible to their people than U.S. made solar panels. Here is a good read on a WTO ruling against India to undermine its efforts to increase jobs in the solar panel industry and increase climate protections.
At the end of the movie I did walk out pledging silently to myself to #BeInconvenient but overall I believe Al Gore could have done a lot more with this ‘movie’. That would make it a more solid attack on climate change deniers and a film that can effectively rouse the international audience to take climate change seriously and spread the message.”
“This movie emphasizes a lot about the truth of climate change, and the ending really moved my friend and I as it did mention about other movements that have occurred through history and maybe, right now, it’s time to have a movement about climate change! It’s amazing how powerful people can be, a call from Al Gore to persuade the solar company is all it takes for India to try to adopt more renewable energy. The Paris agreement and UNFCCC were also shown in the movie itself, displaying the importance of them when it comes to climate change. Leaders of countries such as China and others were also very concerned with the well being of their nations, displaying their progress to adopting a greener lifestyle.”
“After watching the first ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, I find this documentary underwhelming because the lessons learned in the sequel may be obtained by solely watching the prequel. I would say that the only addition to this documentary was the Paris Agreement, whereby India was unfairly portrayed as the antagonist. Nonetheless, I commend on the message delivered by the documentary in trying to mobilise the public in championing against climate change. I say it’s underwhelming because as an environmental science student, the climate change 101 delivered by Al Gore has long been exposed to me. However, had the target of the documentary been towards to ‘non-converts’, those who are hearing about climate change for the first time and the daunting battle against it, An Inconvenient Truth 2 would be a sufficient introductory course.”
“The documentary was very interesting. When former VP Al Gore showed the “Blue Marble” taken by the Apollo 8, it was really mesmerizing. It was absolutely beautiful. In the documentary, you can see how Al Gore had a strong passion. Being able to watch this documentary, it really recharged me. Al Gore was ready to go to every corner of the world for convincing people not to use coal/fossil fuel and switching to renewable energy. He had even visited India to meet the environmental minister and convince them to phase out non-renewable energy plants. When the minister questioned back, he stated that Al Gore shouldn’t be speaking to him and rather was concerned with his own people. If I was at Al Gore’s position, I wouldn’t have known on how to react. He keep on calling here and there to ask for help, so that India would agree to sign the Paris Agreement; his hard work was incredible. This documentary shows us on how every parties, people with power, NGOs, citizens and scientists have their role to play, like one of the quote from the documentary ‘Fight like your world depends on it’.”
“The 1st episode and now the sequel, both films convey the messages in a TED Talk style which revolves around Al Gore talking about the basic science and consequences of climate change but little emphasis on the “who is the actual culprit” and the “how”. When compared to the 1st episode, Al Gore has a grumpy tone in the sequel. The scene when he yelled “What were you thinking?”(to the politicians/climate change deniers) staples in my mind until now and I believe it will stay for quite sometime. Besides, I believe in every film a central antagonist and protagonist will be featured in order to create the required conflict. The conflict will then create excitement which would boost viewership and eventually, the box office sales.
In my opinion, India was placed as the antagonist in this film as they loom as an obstacle to deal with. So, our good guy Gore (or you can say US in general) came to the rescue by persuading the US based solar company to provide tremendous support to India. Ultimately, India agreed, Paris Agreement was adopted and everyone lived happily ever after. Too bad, this only happens in fairy tale.
There are always 2 sides of a story. The right to development is a fundamental principle especially for developing countries. It is stated in Principle 3 in Rio Declaration on Environment and Development back in 1992. For instance, many of the 1.3 billion Indian population needing their basic amenities (i.e education, poverty eradication, healthcare) were still unmet, meaning that development was a necessity. Thus, the importance of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR) can be seen. Nevertheless, memories of myself attending COP21 just streaming through my mind throughout the entire movie. So yeah, I have mixed feelings about this movie. It’s complicated.”
“The movie reiterated the collective struggle for demanding action against climate change. Al Gore instilled that climate action cannot be easily fulfilled without the help of governments and insisted on local action. Significant portions of the film focused on India’s renewable energy and issues related to it. There was a clear pressure on India to do more by the west- even Sunita Narain, who featured in a cameo, mentioned that shifting blame towards developing nations was unfair. India was shown to be delinquent. Interestingly, the film depicted the ‘phone call’ from Al Gore to SolarCity’s CEO for the company to provide solar technologies to India. This looked improbable; with all the negotiations, a mere call couldn’t have done the job. There was a strong hint that the western fear of developing countries becoming developed would prevent the achievement of the 2 degree celsius goal. On the contrary, this movie was another instance of climate change not being solely about climate change as science. Nevertheless, the film was also reminiscent of the floods at my hometown in Chennai. Overall, the show ended towards the optimistic side. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel but there are too many stalactites blocking the path.”
The overall view of the Malaysian Youth Delegation members is that the movie showed glimpses of promise for a sustainable future, but with actions getting hypocritical, we mostly remain ambiguous. However, the scope for development in the movie is considerably high.
On behalf of MYD, we would like to thank all those who made it for the screening and commend #PowerShiftMsia, United International Pictures Malaysia and TGV Cinemas for materialising the event!
Jasmin Irisha
Lhavanya Dharmalingam
Thomas Lai
Program
